


In the Forests Dark and Deep

by General_Zargon



Category: Escape the Infinite Chambers - Zǐ Jiè
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-11
Updated: 2019-05-11
Packaged: 2020-02-29 03:39:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18770434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/General_Zargon/pseuds/General_Zargon
Summary: Set post-chapter 34. Exhausted both mentally and physically after learning that he'd failed to protect his friend Feng Yu Lan, Luo Jian is pulled into another chamber and encounters the Stalker, Xing Yan. Fluff ensues.





	In the Forests Dark and Deep

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so I just read the translated chapters of this series and got inspired (that extra...!), so here you go, have some fluff. Hope I did the characters justice.

When Luo Jian opened his eyes, only to be greeted by the sight of an unfamiliar ceiling covered in water-stains and cobwebs, instead of dread he felt only resignation. He'd been pulled into another chamber. In all the chaos of trying to escape and then kill the Chambers Executioner, he'd completely forgotten that he'd been due to enter one. The realization that he'd failed to protect his brother-in-all-but-blood Feng Yu Lan had given him a heavy psychological blow, and as he lay there on what felt like a generic hotel bed, he gave serious thought to just doing nothing. Let the mission play out without him and then take whatever failure penalty the chamber had in store...but no, he couldn't do that.

As he roused himself enough to sit up, he felt relieved that Feng Yu Lan wouldn't be with him in this chamber - the drunk uncle had told him that taking such severe damage qualified Feng Yu Lan for a 'time-out' as the system controlling the chambers decided whether he still counted as a player or not. Good, his friend needed time to rest and heal, the grimoire controlling his body doing his best to save him. A quick look around revealed that he was dressed in the clothes the system had given him as a reward for surviving the ghost ship, his knife sheathed at his belt. A glimpse of purple caught his eye, and he saw the customary note pinned to the wall next to the bed he was sitting on, well within arms reach. Without looking, he reached out and tore it off, skimming it silently.

【Dear Mr. Luo Jian】

【Welcome to this exciting chamber once again. The setting this time is a haunted motel, long since abandoned due to the rash of disappearances that have occurred on the grounds and infested with angry ghosts. This motel has three floors, including a cellar. Your current room is a safe space that no ghosts may enter, but unless you want to become one of them, I wouldn't count on being able to stay in there for the duration. In order to escape this chamber, you will have to survive four days and discover this motel's secret.】

【Naturally I will give you some hints.】

【First: Do not wander into the forest surrounding the building unless you want to be torn apart.】

【Second: The manager's office is a frightening place, but don't just take the easy way out and raid the kitchen.】

【Third: Ghosts like to play tricks in darkness, so just turn on the light.】

【Additional hints: The watch around your left wrist will show the time you have remaining.】

【The aforementioned hints are over. I wish you the best of luck!.】

Luo Jian's eye twitched, the look he leveled at the note the epitome of a dead fish stare. At first it was an hour, then six hours, and now he had to survive four days? There was something wrong with this time increase! He sighed, his left arm feeling like it was weighed down with a boulder as he lifted it to see that yes, there was an unfamiliar watch wrapped around it. And it was even digital. A sudden touch of cold on his right wrist had him tensing, even though the note said that no ghosts could enter the room he was in, and he looked down cautiously, only to immediately relax when he saw the white-and-black-striped snake the Stalker, Xing Yan, had given him shifting and getting comfortable.

He didn't know why he was so relieved to see the reptile, but he was. Something familiar to ground him while he was feeling listless, perhaps. Either way, he chanced running a finger gently down the serpent's back, the cool scales smooth to the touch. Somehow, that small action soothed him, and he was able to gather the willpower needed to swing his legs over the side of the bed and stand up. The room he was in was a bit smaller than his apartment in the real world, sparsely furnished with a bed, desk, and dresser, but it had working lights and a toilet so he could deal with the lack of space. It wasn't like he was actually staying there.

The wallpaper was yellowed and peeling, matching what he'd seen of the ceiling, with suspicious stains around the baseboards that he wasn't going to look at too closely. He checked out the dresser, pawing through dusty rags to find a flashlight and small mirror, both of which he put into his pockets after checking to make sure the flashlight worked. It did. He investigated the desk next, finding three pens, a bible, and a notebook. Setting aside the notebook for later investigation, he gave the rest of the room a quick glance before sighing, unable to put it off any longer; he pulled out the system's note and flipped it over. Sure enough, there was a paragraph on the back.

【In the late nineteenth century, construction began on the latest branch of a popular motel chain, only for the business to be met with misfortune after it was complete. Robbery, assaults, you name, it happened beneath the motel's roof. The motel faced closure many times, but always managed to pull through until one night, the manager went mad. He and his wife quarreled. When the guests came down to the dining room for dinner, they found a wide variety of meat dishes prepared. The next morning, all the guests were dead.】

Luo Jian shuddered, shoving the note in his pocket and swearing not to eat any meat he found in this chamber. He picked up the notebook and flipped through it, frowning at the watermarks that caused the ink to smudge and rendered over half the words illegible. From he could figure out before giving up, the beginnings of a headache forming behind his eyes, the notebook had belonged to a journalist who'd come to the motel to investigate the disappearances. After the original motel had closed down, ownership of the property changed hands numerous times, the building undergoing numerous renovations to bring it up to code before being used a hotel again and again. One time it was used as a health club, but it closed down within a week when twelve people got boiled alive in the sauna...it seemed like no matter who owned it people kept disappearing, leaving behind only large amounts of blood and sometimes bits of hair. The sauna incident was the only case where the bodies were actually found.

...That was probably important.

* * *

Poking his head out of the room revealed a hallway lined with cracked wooden doors, thankfully none of them that awful red color he was coming to hate. His room was two doors away from the end, and he stepped out onto the stained carpet, not bothering to close the door behind him or turn off the lights. It wasn't like he was paying the electricity bill. He didn't close the door for two reasons, one being that the note had said ghosts couldn't enter his room, and two being that he didn't want to waste precious time opening it again if he had to make a run for the safety of the room.

Lights flickering above him, he held his knife in one hand and the flashlight - still turned off but with his finger on the on-switch - in the other. He headed to the end of the hallway where he'd decided to start his search, opening the first door and decisively clicking on the light.

Methodically searching through the rooms and alert for the slightest sign of attack, he made his way from one part of the building to another, looking for anything on the third floor that might be helpful. He found nothing except some tattered ribbons and a slim, gilded letter opener that he took because having a back-up weapon was never a bad idea. He took the ribbons too. Deciding not to chance the elevator, he took the stairs to the second floor, which was where he encountered the first ghost of this chamber. Opening a door, a hazy, shadowed shape lunged at him, only to be greeted with both the beam of a flashlight and the slash of a knife. The shadow screamed, dissolving, and Luo Jian breathed heavily, the adrenaline snapping him out of the apathy he'd retreated into. That's right, he couldn't afford to be complacent in a chamber, he told himself, letting out a shuddering sigh.

Shaking his head, he continued. This time his search yielded some old brochures about the hotel's history, which he shoved into a pocket with the ribbons. He wasn't seeing anything significant, no flash of purple or red heralding another of the chamber's clues, and he thought that maybe he should go down to the ground floor and look for the manager's office and the kitchen, the only two places mentioned in the hints he was given.

Before he could make a decision, one of the doors behind him creaked open, and his heart began to pound ( _thump thump_ ) as he turned, brandishing the flashlight. He tightened his grip on his knife, breathing softly and trying to lessen the amount of noise he made as he moved to put his back against the wall between two nearby doors. This also put him right underneath one of the flickering lights. He kept his gaze on the opening door, tense and wary.

And then he saw the one emerging from the room and promptly dropped his flashlight.

It was him. The Stalker.  _Xing Yan_.

Luo Jian swayed, grateful for the support of the wall as his hands dropped down to his sides, almost absently sheathing his knife. He stared straight into those red eyes as the man approached, feeling tears sting his own eyes as the dam holding back his emotions broke. It didn't matter that he was in a chamber, a place whose sole purpose seemed to be to kill people in increasingly horrific way. It didn't matter if the Stalker was supposed to kill him or not; he was familiar, someone who'd fought against Duan Li so Luo Jian could get to Ah-Lan, someone who'd helped him several times before. And right now, someone familiar was exactly who Luo Jian needed to see.

Taking long steps, he met Xing Yan halfway and then kept moving, not stopping until his face pressed against the other's chest. He surprised the Stalker, he thought distantly, winding his arms around Xing Yan's torso in what was unmistakably a hug, gripping the other tightly and fighting back the urge to start sobbing. Tears fell unchecked from his eyes, droplets of moisture disappearing against the dark fabric of Xing Yan's clothes.

* * *

Xing Yan was surprised and pleased that his cute little prey hadn't run away when he saw him, actually approaching until they were touching, the heat of the other sinking into Xing Yan's cold skin. A pair of arms wrapped around him, not to restrain but simply hold, and the new sensation made the hunter pause for a moment. It wasn't an unpleasant feeling, he decided, feeling a patch of dampness form on his shirt and the storm raging inside his little prey's quiet exterior.

His little prey's heart was battered by emotions, a seething mixture that made him frown, because this lovely little thing was in a kind of pain that was different from physical pain, one he didn't understand. He deftly wrapped his own arms around his little prey, lifting him into his arms and setting off towards the stairs, his little prey's arms still locked around his chest. None of the chamber's creatures dared to come close as Xing Yan reached the room designated as a 'safe zone', not breaking stride as he entered and shut the door behind him. His little prey was trembling in his arms, not from fear but from the churning emotions inside him seeking an outlet, one they found in the form of tears.

The tears were cold, he thought as he bent to set his little prey on the bed, trying to straighten up only to find that his little prey refused to let go of him. The soft, tear-stained face and moist black eyes topped with fluffy hair made his little prey look like a sad kitten, and he keenly felt the lovely little thing's desire for him to stay. Xing Yan had no reason to refuse the request, sitting on the bed and following along with his little prey's tugs as the other nudged him where he wanted him to be. Xing Yan was laying propped against the pillows by the time his little prey was satisfied, settling in beside him and wrapping his arms around him. Tears fell anew as his little prey's face was once again hidden against Xing Yan's chest, but he didn't mind, his attention caught by the white and black-striped snake wound around his little prey's wrist.

Xing Yan was pleased that his little prey kept the snake with him, grinning at the reptile that poked its head up and flicked out its tongue, recognizing the scent of its master. It settled back down; unwilling to move from its spot since there was no danger.

Leaning back, Xing Yan held his lovely prey securely in his arms. He felt the torrent of emotion gradually slow, the flood of feelings fading to a trickle as the fear, pain, guilt and self-directed anger drained away in the form of tears. He felt the tremors running through the other's body - sobs perhaps? Either way, he kept his hold firm and protective, yet loose enough that his little prey could slip out if he wanted. That his lovely prey made no move to do so had warmth suffusing his long-cold body. Tilting his head to look at his cute prey's face, all kitten-dark eyes and face pink from crying, he smiled when the other looked back at him. To his delight, his cute prey smiled back him, though his lips still trembled from the whirling mass of emotions he'd been weathering.

His little prey ducked his head, shamelessly rubbing his face clean against Xing Yan's clothing and blinking innocently at the raised eyebrow his actions earned him. Xing Yan stared intently at the other's lips as they moved, feeling the gratitude flowing across their bond and adding to the warmth curling around his unbeating heart. Then his little prey surprised him, leaning forwards until warm breath brushed gently at the cool skin of his face, and then their lips connected. The surge of heat had Xing Yan tightening his grip, returning the kiss with surprising softness.

The kiss itself was chaste, a small amount of gentle pressure the only thing proving that yes, it was actually happening. Xing Yan felt his little prey's emotions, the previous storm subsided and leaving only a clear sky of gratitude-care-protection-kindness-love. He hesitated to name the last one, as he had no memory of love or hate, but it was the only word he felt accurately described the sheer warmth that filled his entire body when it flowed across the link. He rubbed his little prey's back to comfort him when he felt a bit of concern begin to take root in the other, gently tugging his little prey's head down to kiss him more firmly.

Xing Yan couldn't remember feeling so warm, the cold that normally surrounded his heart and suffused his body long-since banished by his little prey's refusal to let go of him. Their lips slowly parted, his lovely prey instead tucking his head against Xing Yan's neck, nuzzling the cool flesh and swiftly warming it with warm puffs of air. Xing Yan made no move to stop him, smile curving his lips.

* * *

By the time he finished crying, Luo Jian felt drained and wrung-out, exhaustion weighing down on his limbs. The following kisses were slow and languid, his mind lost in a pleasant haze; it felt good, really good, a sense of comfort surrounding him like a warm, heavy blanket.

He rubbed his face against the cool column of the Stalker's throat, nuzzling the skin without any hesitation and breathing in the scent of leather and iron. The motions nudged Xing Yan's head up and to the side, baring his throat, but the thought of taking advantage of that never even crossed his mind. He settled down, feeling strands of silky hair brush his face as he draped himself over Xing Yan's body, limp and relaxed as the Stalker stroked his back. He'd worried for a minute that Xing Yan would be punished for not trying to kill him in the hallway, but the worry faded as Xing Yan continued to look unconcerned, his kisses slow and easy.

Impulsively, Luo Jian gave the pale skin against his lips a kittenish lick. He couldn't really describe what it tasted like, but whatever it was was cool and cleansing on his tongue. He liked it, which was something to examine later; for now, he laved at the flesh with long, slow licks like one cat grooming another. The Stalker made no move to stop him, and the repetitive motions helped Luo Jian to relax. Gradually, his licking slowed, and then stopped entirely. Luo Jian's breathing was deep and even, his eyes closed in slumber and his body warm and pliant on top of Xing Yan.

Xing Yan looked down at his cute prey, having felt it the moment the other drifted off into a dreamless sleep. He smiled at the warm feeling of contentment coming from his little prey. He laid there for long enough to be sure that his little prey was deeply asleep, then slid out from beneath him with nary a whisper of fabric. Pulling the covers over his cute prey, he tucked the other in and stepped back, watching his brow furrow and hands flex as though reaching for someone. Xing Yan stroked his little prey's hair until he settled, face smoothing out into a peaceful expression. Good, his little prey was sleeping deeply and unlikely to wake up for some time, given how tired Xing Yan could feel he was.

That would give him more than enough time to do what he needed to. Xing Yan looked at his cute prey's face for a moment longer before exiting the room, silently shutting the door behind him.

* * *

Luo Jian woke up slowly, blinking the sleep-gunk from his eyes and fighting the urge to fall back asleep, his movements sluggish as he yawned. Stretching his arms above his head and feeling his back give a satisfying 'pop', the action helped to clear some of the cobwebs from his mind as his arms lowered. He looked around drowsily, his surroundings taking a moment to register, but when they did the remnants of sleep evaporated in seconds. He was in the room where he'd first woken up in the chamber, the 'safe zone' in the haunted hotel. Fear did wonders for sharpening the mind, Luo Jian distantly noted, now recalling the events that had led to him laying on the bed when he distinctly remembered heading out to explore the hotel. Heat rushed to his face, and he blushed, especially when he looked to the side and saw that no, he hadn't been imagining Xing Yan's presence.

The Stalker was laying right next to him, red eyes placidly watching him freak out. Luo Jian blushed harder, a whine caught in his throat as he unthinkingly leaned over and hid his face against Xing Yan's ribs.

It was strange; although Luo Jian couldn't see the other's face and he made no sound, he somehow felt that Xing Yan was amused. After his blush subsided, he could admit (if only to himself) that yes, his reaction  _was_ funny. He'd needed the chance to cry and the comfort of not being alone while he did, he sighed, smiling tiredly as he briefly snuggled down against Xing Yan. That pleased the other man, he could tell it did, and it felt so good that he did it again, throwing an arm over Xing Yan's waist and half-hugging him. Warmth bubbled up inside his chest, and Luo Jian was practically purring as his partial embrace was returned, a powerful arm curving around his back and pulling him firmly against the Stalker's prone body.

Belatedly, he realized that he really had no idea what happened to Xing Yan after the chamber ended and they parted ways; did Xing Yan immediately appear in a different chamber or did something else happen? Was he awake or did he sleep in some kind of standby mode? He fretted, worry for the other taking root in his heart, even though he knew that there wasn't anything he could do to help. Whatever happened, Xing Yan seemed to enjoy physical contact with him, hugging and kissing (especially kissing, if the other's actions when he was summoned to the real world were any indication). That was fine, that was more than fine, he had no problem with either of those things.

Honestly, he probably wouldn't have even remembered the time-limit the chamber had given him, so focused was he on showering Xing Yan with affection, if he didn't catch a glimpse of the watch on his wrist mid-cuddle. He promptly froze, every muscle tensing as he stared in horror at the device, contentment replaced by dread as he brought it closer to look at the screen. He was down to three days. How could he have slept for over _twenty-four hours_?! He was seconds away from panicking when he felt a finger tap him on the head, snapping him out of it. He looked at the owner of the finger in confusion, only to see the grin on Xing Yan's face as he pointed to the desk which, Luo Jian realized, was a lot more cluttered than it had been when he'd first left the room.

Reluctantly, he left the bed and padded over to examine the objects. Most of it was loose pieces of paper, but there were one or two pictures and newspaper clippings mixed in. Could these be the clues that he was supposed to find in the chamber? Did Xing Yan gather them all for him? Gratitude filled him, along with new worry that the chamber would view Xing Yan's actions as against the rules and punish him. He looked over at the Stalker in concern, only to be reassured by his joyful grin, the expression telling Luo Jian that it was going to be okay.

Carefully looking over these new clues, Luo Jian thought he was beginning to put the pieces together. "So it all started the night the manager and his wife quarreled, and when the chamber's note mentioned meat dishes the first thing that came to mind was the manager murdered her and served her to the guests...but what if it was the other way around?" He wondered out loud, "It would make sense for the wife to do the cooking, so what if _she_ killed _him_? She served his flesh to the guests who came down for dinner, and the next morning the guests were all dead, but how did they die? Were they poisoned? No, the newspaper clippings say 'massacre', not 'mass poisoning'. The word massacre implies blood, but judging by this picture of the manager's family, his wife is a tiny woman. Even if she managed to catch the first few guests by surprise, chances are good that at least one of them would be able to overpower her."

"It's like with the ghost ship: things aren't always as they first appear to be. The son in the picture is tall and strong, so what if _he_ was the one to kill the guests? The writing on the back of the picture says that when the photo was taken, he was fifteen years-old, definitely old enough to kill someone. So the manager's wife kills the manager after they fight, then the son kills the guests? But why?" Luo Jian searched through the stack of clues, eventually uncovering what turned out to be a maid's diary. "Ah, according to this, the manager and his son were quite close, and when the son discovered what his mother had done over a pointless argument, he went mad and killed her, along with all of the guests who had eaten his father's flesh." Yes, that sounded right, he nodded absently, "The first note the chamber gave me only mentioned the guests dying, but what about the employees?" Reading further revealed the answer - apparently the son killed the majority of the staff that saw him, but the remainder banded together to drive him into the woods around the hotel, after which he vanished. Luo Jian frowned, turning that over in his mind.

The more he thought about his theory, the more it made sense, and after a moment he voiced it, "The son seems like the most likely culprit; since it only mentions him vanishing instead of dying, it'd be possible for him to sneak back and hide somewhere in the hotel, somehow evading discovery through all the renovations and re-openings...perhaps the people who vanished were killed because they saw him when he emerged from his hiding place to gather supplies? It seems like it's only been twenty years since the manager's death in this chamber. It's very possible for the son to still be alive..." He trailed off, turning his head to look at Xing Yan with dead fish eyes as he deadpanned, "You took over the son's role, didn't you?"

Xing Yan's grin widened.

Luo Jian sighed, helplessly smiling back.

That was one mystery solved. The next one would be where the exit was, and he had three days to figure it out.

* * *

Gratitude flowed freely through his link to his little prey, and Xing Yan was pleased. A spark of humor blended with the thankfulness, adding a bubbly feeling to the well of warmth. His little prey seemed to have worked out what role Xing Yan had taken and was amused by it, adding to Xing Yan's own mirth. To Xing Yan's surprise, instead of immediately running out to search for the door his cute little prey returned to the bed, curling up against Xing Yan's side. Resting his head on Xing Yan's unmoving chest, his little prey threw an arm and a leg across his body and snuggled close.

His little prey seemed determined to share as much warmth with him as possible, and Xing Yan smiled. His heart, for all that it was long dead, was no longer cold, his little prey warm and content in his embrace.

* * *

Luo Jian's exit from the chamber was rather anticlimactic, for all that he'd cut it kind of close, laying in bed with Xing Yan and sharing slow, lazy kisses until four hours before the deadline. The Stalker had followed from the room all the way to the kitchen, all ghosts seemingly fleeing in terror and not daring to harass them, simply watching as Luo Jian poked around and eventually found the switch to open the door leading to the secret chamber where the exit was hidden. He couldn't resist looking back at Xing Yan as he stepped into the twisting shadows beyond the door, seeing those red eyes looking surprisingly peaceful as they watched him go.

Somehow, he found himself looking forward to the next chamber, if it meant he could see Xing Yan again.


End file.
